HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (March 18, 2025) — Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that the organization has signed an agreement with Progressive Insurance to sponsor Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE in 18 NASCAR Cup Series races this season, beginning with Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Progressive’s name and branding will be prominently displayed on Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota and race suit, and his crew will also be sporting Progressive-branded gear.
“Progressive is a premier national brand and a leader in the insurance industry. We are thrilled to have them partner with Denny (Hamlin) and our No. 11 team,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “We all know that NASCAR fans love being active and on the move, whether it is in their cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats or recreational vehicles, and we look forward to raising awareness on how Progressive can protect them and their families.”
Beyond this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami, Progressive is scheduled to be the primary sponsor of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota for races at Martinsville Speedway (March 30), Bristol Motor Speedway (April 13), Talladega Superspeedway (April 27), Texas Motor Speedway (May 4), Kansas Speedway (May 11), the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway (May 18), Nashville Superspeedway (June 1), Pocono Raceway (June 22), the Chicago Street Race (July 6), Dover Motor Speedway (July 20), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 27), Watkins Glen International (Aug. 10), Richmond Raceway (Aug. 16), World Wide Technology Raceway (Sept. 7), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sept. 21), the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (Oct. 5) and Phoenix Raceway (Nov. 2). In addition, Progressive will also be featured as a full-season associate partner with Hamlin and the No. 11 team.
“When the opportunity arose for us to be a part of the Joe Gibbs Racing family and support renowned NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, we were all in,” said Sean Freeman, Progressive’s Business Leader of Direct Media. “We love JGR’s pursuit of excellence and Hamlin’s proven success on the track. Together, our marketing and their driving styles align well and can’t wait to see the No. 11 in action.”
Hamlin is competing in his 20th full-time season in the Cup Series. He is tied for 12th on the all-time wins list with 54 victories, including three wins last year. His Cup Series career has included monumental wins like his trio of Daytona 500 victories (2016, 2019, 2020), three Southern 500 wins (2010, 2017, 2021), and a Coca-Cola 600 triumph in 2022. Hamlin currently sits 12th in the Cup Series standings with a best finish of second at Phoenix.
“This is a huge deal for our No. 11 team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Hamlin. “We’re really looking forward to having Progressive on board and being able to deliver for them on and off the race track. For me, it’s exciting to team up with a brand like Progressive that is so innovative with their marketing and the different ways you see them activate. I can’t wait to get going with them starting this weekend.”
From female series executives and team owners to race engineers and drivers, auto racing has become one of the more diverse sports on the planet, providing a rare opportunity for men and women to compete head-to-head at a major league level.
While it has taken time to consistently provide that diversity, there is both obvious and subtle progress in the sport. As the world celebrates Women’s History Month, it’s a fitting time to examine how the NASCAR grid has evolved both stateside and internationally.
One of the most promising young drivers in the United States is 20-year-old Isabella Robusto, an established member of the next generation of racing stars — regardless of gender. She quickly proved herself as a top talent, earning three top-10 finishes in her first four ARCA national series starts last year.
This season, in addition to moving up to full-time competition in the ARCA Menards Series for the Venturini Racing Team, the South Carolinian — who graduated from high school a year early — is currently studying aeronautical engineering at Arizona State University.
It’s clear in talking to her that racing against men is essentially a non-issue. And that’s exactly the kind of progress that she stands to benefit from.
“I feel like the drivers I’ve grown up racing do [show respect], but we’ve been racing against each other for 10 years now, and we understand we’re all good enough to be running up front, so let’s not just knock each other out of the way all the time,” said Robusto, who acknowledged she has faced some hurdles along the way but has largely found competitors to be accepting and fair.
“You have a handful of people you didn’t grow up with, that grew up in a different way, with a different racing route, and you have to race them on national TV where everything is on camera, and it can be a different perspective. I think it really depends on how much respect you have for them. If they’ve seen what you’ve been able to accomplish, it’s better. If not, it’s hard sometimes.”
She concedes there have been times she was perhaps unfairly challenged or raced differently because she is female but says it is much different now than when she was starting out a decade ago.
“I feel like, overall, some boys will race you harder. I had that, especially when I was growing up. But I’ve turned it into a positive, where I practice my race craft even more. I feel like it helps me in a way. Now, if you get the two or three guys that want to race you harder than the rest [of the field], you can kind of fall back on the race craft you’ve learned throughout the years.”
Adam Glanzman | ARCA
That’s a familiar theme. And having to prove themselves as they move up the ranks seems to have made some female drivers even better by increasing their learning curve exponentially.
Robusto’s rise through the ranks based on talent rather than spectacle is especially encouraging for veteran racers in some of NASCAR’s premier international series. They appreciate the growth and respect younger drivers are receiving today.
At 34 years old, NASCAR Canada Series driver Shantel Kalika has seen the progress firsthand. The Saskatoon driver is one of the more popular competitors in the series, where she owned her car and raced full-time from 2018 to 2022. She now makes selected starts.
“I think that’s always the topic of conversation to some degree, but I think the world has evolved in the sense of being more accepting of that. I feel like it still exists, just not as much of a stigma around it in the sense that we recognize you’re different than everybody else,” Kalika said of typically being one of the only women on the grid as she worked her way up.
“For me, it’s always been important to show up and be seen as just another competitor. I think, at the same time, there’s a piece that comes into play when you’re a female in a male-dominated sport. You do have to consistently prove yourself in that environment.
“I think it means breaking some of those stereotypes and challenging some perceptions. I think sometimes you’re fighting for the same level of respect, and that comes from earning it. I think that was always something I was just raised with.”
Kalika credits her father with bringing her up through the ranks with the kind of tough love and hard lessons that she believes ultimately helped her competitively.
“The first year I started racing, my dad actually made me start at the back of the pack at my local race track,” Kalika recalled. “I had to start at the back every race for the whole season, and I absolutely despised it at the time.
“I was thinking, ‘Why do I need to do this?’ Looking at it now, I am ever thankful that my dad had that outlook. For me to be able to go out there and gain respect and race door-to-door, to start at the back and work my way up, the car control of racing side by side with other people — it taught me so much more, and I think that’s what helped me have such a good career now.”
Italian Arianna Casoli, 50, is competing in the NASCAR Euro Series this season, announcing just last week that she will again drive for Speedhouse Racing in the Open division. The series not only has substantial female participation but also offers a special “Lady Trophy” — a year-end honor recognizing the top female driver in the class — a title Casoli has won five times.
Casoli, who works professionally as an architect, is popular in the paddock with young girls who see her as a role model — whether inspiring them to drive race cars or build buildings. She hopes to encourage them to pursue their dreams.
“This young generation, the ladies that want to approach the sport, must know what is happening,” Casoli said. “Motorsports is the only sport where there are no adjustments for women. Mentally, in a certain way, we are also different, and this is really powerful to make them understand they can do it.”
Speak to Casoli for even a few minutes, and you walk away inspired — exactly the effect she is proud to pass along.
“I want to improve and learn things, and there is a lot I can do,” Casoli said. “In Europe, it is not so common to have people on track talking with a driver, but I had that chance with Euro NASCAR. Many said, ‘I want to do what you are doing.’ Some moms came up and told me, ‘You are giving an example to my daughter and my son that it is possible to do it.’
“I never imagined it could be possible to do so many things just doing what I love. I think it is a matter of passion. It is not easy. The challenges you face are so hard sometimes — on track and maybe more so outside the race track — but I love what I do.”
Being able to do what you love is perhaps the truest sign of achievement and progress — even if you have to be part of a societal shift to do that. And, in racing, it extends even beyond the driver’s seat, which is encouraging for the future.
“I’m seeing so many more young [female] racers competing in a variety of types [of cars] to get the variety of experiences that will pay dividends as they progress up the ladder,” said Lyn St. James, a co-founder of Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) and one of the most successful racers of any gender.
“We need all forms of motorsports to help tell the stories of the successful women racers because it will put them on the radar to help capture the wave of support for women in sports. … It’s an opportunity to create more exposure and support for all of motorsports. It’s happening with the women engineers in motorsports crossing over to STEM and technology. These are opportunities for the sport to grow.”
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — HARMAN International announced today that it has become a NASCAR Technology Partner aimed at delivering premium audio experiences for racing fans through future race track audio upgrades. This partnership enables NASCAR to design and implement high-quality integrated audio systems using HARMAN Professional Solutions brands, including JBL Professional loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers, BSS digital signal processing and more.
HARMAN Professional is a global leader in developing advanced audio systems for large-scale venues, with solutions deployed in stadiums, arenas, music festivals, theme parks, and performing arts centers worldwide. Through this technology partnership, HARMAN’s expertise and product offerings will help elevate sound quality for race fans across NASCAR’s race track properties as upgrades are required at any one of the 14 NASCAR-owned venues. In addition to the primary exterior race track areas, NASCAR venues feature numerous interior spaces where intelligibility and high-quality audio is essential for announcements, broadcast coverage, and music.
“JBL and NASCAR are two iconic brands that were founded just two years apart in the 1940s, and will now work together to enhance one of the most thrilling and widely attended sports in the world,” said Brian Divine, President of HARMAN Professional Solutions. “On any given day, thousands of fans around the world experience audio through a JBL system, and we are excited to collaborate with NASCAR through this technology partnership to bring them even closer to the action through superior sound.”
Founded in 1948, NASCAR is the premier sanctioning body of stock car racing in North America and operates 14 race track properties, including Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and others.
Further details on the partnership and specific audio integrations will be announced as the 2025 season progresses.
Josh Berry hit the jackpot in Las Vegas, snapping Christopher Bell’s three-race win streak en route to his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory and 101st win in team history for the legendary Wood Brothers Racing.
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series contenders after the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and before the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Analysis: All good things must come to an end — including Bell’s win streak, which snaps at an impressive three races. Despite missing out on the top 10 in his attempt for four straight — but also making arguably the best split-second decision of the year so far — Bell remains the championship favorite. He’s also led in three straight Homestead races — on top of a pristine 8.8 average finish there across five Cup starts — winning in the fall of 2023. Toyota’s Vegas results were a bit befuddling, but look for Bell to potentially dominate once again this weekend.
Analysis: Bell’s wins may give him the overall edge, but Byron has been every bit as good and actually holds a healthy margin of points (29) over the No. 20 in the standings after just five races. Having a better average finish (8.0) than the guy who has won three of those five races (9.2) is also no small feat and he’s no slouch at Homestead, either. Byron has an excellent chance to capture win No. 2 this weekend, having won the last spring race at Miami in 2021 in dominant fashion and contending in each of the three fall races there since.
Analysis: For a good part of the race, Las Vegas appeared to be shaping up to fall right into the lap of Larson — now the track leader in laps led, with plenty of career still left to pad that stat — but late action cost him the win and forced him to settle for a top 10. Not a huge concern for him and the No. 5 crew; the next month of racing should be plenty kind to them, and as the likely favorite heading into Sunday, Larson should have another strong showing ahead of him at arguably his best track.
Analysis: Elliott is once again a top-20 machine to open the season, turning in five straight such finishes after remarkably hitting 16 in a row last year. That kind of consistency will certainly come in handy, but despite that, he has just one trip to Victory Lane since 2022. It feels like the No. 9 team is close, though, and a first win at Homestead — where Elliott averages a 9.8 finish — could be right around the corner.
Analysis: Reddick is a solid third in points, but thus far has just a pair of top 10s to show for his efforts, with Vegas (34 laps led but 24th-place result) being a frustrating one for him. Nothing that a trip to Homestead can’t fix, as Reddick — as you might have heard — is notorious for ripping the fence at the Florida track, where he’s the most recent winner. In four of his five races there, No. 45 has finished in the top four.
Analysis: It is obviously still extremely early, but Hamlin’s initial 2025 returns have him looking at a pace that would result in his worst average finish (15.6) since 2013. Considering he was runner-up last week, there truly aren’t any major concerns here, and the three-time Homestead winner could be having everyone saying, once again, “Is this the year?” by the end of the weekend.
Analysis: Along with his teammate Byron, Bowman is one of just two drivers with a top 10 in four of the season’s five races, and it’s not a stretch to say he could be rounding into a 2025 title contender with a win coming soon. One thing we’ll need to see more of is laps led (19 so far after just 67 all of last year). At Homestead, he’s yet to see the front of the field in nine starts.
Analysis: As frustrating as Sunday was for Blaney and the No. 12 group … did that not look like a championship-caliber team as the 2023 champ worked his way through the field multiple times and probably would’ve had a shot to contend for the win if his day didn’t end prematurely? Blaney will have plenty of motivation coming off that one, and very likely plenty of speed heading to Homestead, where he’ll be equally motivated to make up for a super frustrating end for him the last time we raced there.
Analysis: We’re onto you, Ross. You threw everybody off the scent with a P40 in Daytona, but don’t think we haven’t noticed your 9.0 average finish in the four races since. Your 14 laps led and top-five finish at Vegas — not to mention your resurgence late last season as a non-playoff driver — were a dead giveaway that you’re going to be a weekly contender again, and it’s hard to think the secret won’t get out this weekend at Homestead, where we know you like to run the wall and landed a runner-up just a few years ago.
Analysis: Honestly, at this point, it’s mostly just impressive how Logano can be one of the season’s best drivers (series-best — by far — 247 laps led) while having fewer top 10s (zero) than both Jimmie Johnson and Justin Allgaier, who each only ran the Daytona 500. Clearly just a fluke, Logano has plenty of speed in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford in his championship defense and the solid finishes are coming. Homestead may not go so well, however, as it was a better track for him in the Gen 6 car; he has just one top 10 there since 2019.
Analysis: Well, how about that? It appears Wood Brothers has found its cornerstone driver, with Berry capitalizing on serious speed at Las Vegas to deliver the team its 101st win, at a 1.5-mile track, no less. There’s a reason Berry’s talent has long been raved about and we shouldn’t rule out another win for him in 2025 — in fact, after a near top 10 last fall at Homestead with Stewart-Haas Racing just weeks away from closing its doors, two-in-a-row may be on the table.
Analysis: Similarly to Chastain, Buescher’s overall average finish is hurt by one poor superspeedway result (30th at Atlanta) amid an otherwise strong four races — No. 17 is still holding a solid 13.0 across all five. Buescher is certainly on track to win this year, so why the dip in ranking? Because we shouldn’t expect the win to come this weekend — Buescher has never finished better than 13th in nine starts at Homestead.
Analysis: Wallace has had one of the more frustrating starts to 2025 of anyone, flashing plenty of speed but not much to show for it with one P9 at Atlanta but the remainder of his finishes all landing in the 20s. He’s led in each of the last three Homestead races — though only for a total of 13 laps — but overall it’s not an amazing track for him, with a 19.0 average finish and just one top 10 across six starts.
Analysis: And here’s “Logano Light” — McDowell has looked solid overall and the Vegas pole winner has found the front of the field, but he has been shut out of the top 10 so far for various reasons. He’s scored 21-plus points in four of the five races, though, to remain in the playoff picture and could have a strong chance to do so again this weekend. McDowell landed sixth on the results sheet the last time the series raced at Homestead in the spring.
Analysis: With three top-eight finishes heading into Vegas, there’s no need to write off “Rowdy” and his hot start, but Vegas was a tough one to swallow for the No. 8 bunch; they scored five or fewer points for the second time in five races. Busch has won two of the past 10 Homestead races, however, and has been quite good there overall after a tough learning curve to open his career at the 1.5-mile facility.
Analysis: Stenhouse is doing just enough to hang around, having no bad races yet (worst finish of 21st) but only one good race (P5 at Atlanta). A solid 23.2 points per race will keep him afloat for now, but it could be a struggle for him to hit that mark at Homestead. It’s not insurmountable, but it is notable that RSJ has never finished in the top 10 at Homestead despite racing there every year since 2012.
Analysis: After coming out strong with a pair of top 10s in the first two races, Nemechek is beginning to slip just a bit with no finish better than 14th since and no laps led overall just yet. It could all unravel at Homestead, too, where Nemechek has a rough 25.4 average finish and no finishes better than 19th — which came in 2020 with a different team and manufacturer.
Analysis: He’s got a ways to go, but Preece has improved his standings position each week since the Daytona 500 and has collected 30-plus points in back-to-back weeks to lift him. But wait, there’s more — like Berry, he turned in a solid performance at Homestead as SHR had one last gasp of performance last fall, earning his first career top 10 there. His second could come Sunday, in a better situation than he had a few months ago.
Analysis: After some undeniably down periods, there are glimmers of hope that Trackhouse Racing could be finding its way, as evidenced by Suárez’s near-win and ultimate runner-up run at Las Vegas. No. 99 hasn’t been “bad” at Homestead, with five of his eight starts landing him in the top 16, but he does have just one total top 10 there. If he’s for real, this could be a good proving ground for him.
Analysis: It seems to be a Team Penske phenomenon: Cindric continues to lead plenty of laps but Sunday’s P6 was just his second top 10 of the season, as he averages a result of just 17.2 so far. It’ll all even out eventually, though, and there’s a lot to like here for No. 2’s long-term 2025 outlook. Short-term could be a different story, though, as the veteran has no top-10 finishes at Homestead yet in his career.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the field looks to leave its mark in the Hard Rock Bet 300 on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is back in action this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Baptist Health 200 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
LAS VEGAS — Josh Berry is a NASCAR Cup Series winner. That’s an honor he once thought he’d never get to bear.
The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing driver fended off the field to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, the 1.5-mile oval that played a crucial role in Berry’s stock-car racing story throughout the past four years.
Berry, 34, spent over a decade building his career as a Late Model Stock short-track racer for JR Motorsports around the Southeast, eventually earning the 2020 Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division 1 national championship. He made sporadic Xfinity Series starts for JRM from 2014-17, but racing a stock car in NASCAR’s highest ranks full-time seemed so far away for so long.
Then, an opportunity sprung for a part-time Xfinity schedule for JRM in 2021, in which he won twice — including a clutch substitute win at Las Vegas — finally propelling the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native onto the national NASCAR scene.
“Five years ago, I felt like I was going to be a career short-track racer,” Berry reflected Sunday. “I wanted to be Bubba Pollard. I wanted to be the greatest on the short tracks. And JR Motorsports gave me an opportunity to go drive an Xfinity car, and we won a race, and then we won another race, and then I get an opportunity in a Cup car and that goes well. And here I am now.”
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
His first opportunity to drive a Next Gen car in the Cup Series came at — you guessed it — Las Vegas, where he was tasked with driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in March 2023 when the series’ most popular driver, Chase Elliott, was sidelined by injury. The race didn’t go as he’d hoped, finishing 29th after qualifying 32nd.
“I flew home that night thinking that my career was over because of how I ran that day,” Berry said. “And it was a last-second, thrown-in-the-car (process). I had no preparation. And even thinking back to that day, they believed in me. And they gave me another week, right? And then we went and finished in the top 10. So just, it’s amazing the things that have to happen to get to this point.”
Indeed, just one week later, Berry hopped back into the No. 9 car and scored a top 10 at Phoenix Raceway. Two weeks after that, he finished second at Richmond Raceway in just his sixth career Cup start. That process and his quick adaptation to such a unique race car caught the eye of Jon Wood, now the team president of Wood Brothers Racing.
“He drove in two or three different styles (of) race tracks, having never driven in a Next Gen car, and he ran competitively and finished well in two of the three,” Wood said. “I was sold from that point. And I didn’t know Josh from anybody. Like, I knew who he was, but I hadn’t been following him. And I didn’t want him to do well. Like, I was like, ‘Well, this isn’t supposed to be that easy. You’re not supposed to outrun us when you just hop in one of these things.’ So it stuck in my mind that week: This dude’s probably pretty good. But it never dawned on me that there would be an opportunity (to sign him).”
That changed once Berry left JRM’s Xfinity program after two full-time seasons from 2022-23 and its Chevrolet ties to go Cup racing in 2024 with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Fords. His rookie campaign in the No. 4 Ford featured notable highlights, like leading 32 laps at Iowa Speedway and 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway, both tracks shorter than 1 mile in length. But it also consisted of 10 DNFs in a tumultuous season for SHR, which shuttered its doors at the conclusion of 2024 for a full rebrand and sell-off of three of its four charters.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
The good news for the Wood Brothers, though, is Berry was already in the Ford camp. As the team mulled plans for a new driver in 2025, Berry emerged as a top candidate. And five races into their new relationship, Berry has his first career Cup win in hand, has already tied his 2024 total of top-five finishes (two) and his two top 10s equate to half his 2024 total as well. Berry attributes the quick start to belief in Jon Wood, team co-owners Eddie and Len Wood as well as crew chief Miles Stanley — and also their belief in him.
“From the minute that I sat with everyone at this table and thought about this opportunity, it just felt right,” Berry said alongside Jon and Eddie Wood and Stanley. “It just felt like the right fit for me. But our performance at the start of the season has 100% exceeded my expectations. And I think that it just goes back to just trusting your instincts as a driver, that if you’re in a good situation and surrounded by good people and have fast race cars that you can do amazing things.”
Through Wood Brothers Racing’s alliance with Team Penske, Berry is also engrained with Penske’s trio of racers, which includes defending and three-time Cup champ Joey Logano, 2023 title winner Ryan Blaney and 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric. Cindric, who maintains close relationships with many on the No. 21 team, was sure to visit Victory Lane and offer his congratulations — and explain why this win shouldn’t be such a surprise.
“He’s done each step of the way right and obviously had the car today and got the job done. It’s really that simple,” Cindric said. “It’s cool to see, and cool to see the guys in the shop that are excited; the Wood Brothers and everybody. So yeah, if I can’t win one of these and my other two guys can’t, he’s the guy. It’s a cool group because there’s a lot of first-time winners.”
The response to Berry’s victory has been overwhelmingly positive, including congratulatory messages from his 2024 crew chief Rodney Childers and JRM co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller. But that warm reception was even extended by his current competitors like Chase Briscoe and William Byron. The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports driver, who led 10 laps in Sunday’s Vegas race and finished fourth, overlapped with Berry while the duo ran Late Model Stocks together for JRM. But their relationship predates even that.
“We grew up all the way back to iRacing days racing each other,” Byron said. “So, good for him. Happy for them. He’s definitely been a contender.”
Berry also left a positive impact on Hendrick Motorsports. In addition to the five races he filled in for Elliott, Berry also subbed for an injured Alex Bowman in three races in 2023. Team president Jeff Andrews continues to hold Berry in high regard despite his departure elsewhere.
“Josh is just a solid guy,” Andrews told NASCAR.com. “We go back to a few years ago here when he filled in for us, and I can remember having a conversation with him when we needed him to drive this 9 car and just a solid guy, works hard. Obviously a great short-track background that spoke for itself. And Hendrick Motorsports, from our perspective, we couldn’t be more proud to see where Josh has ended up and win today. Very, very deserving. Just a good guy, a good race-car driver who works hard and has made his way up through the sport.
“To win on a mile-and-a-half track like this, I know it’s got to feel great for him, a great sense of accomplishment, and good for the sport. Congratulations to the Wood Brothers as well.”
Berry captured his first Xfinity Series win on the Martinsville Speedway half-mile back in 2021. But Vegas has played a special role in his career too. Now, it will forever hold a significant place in the story of his career as the site of his first NASCAR Cup Series win.
“Obviously, with my experience on the short tracks, you’d think that that’s where you’re going to win,” Berry said. “But if anything, I’ve learned in this sport you never know what day can be your day, and you just have to put your head down and be there to capitalize. And Miles and this whole 21 team brought a great race car, and we found ourselves in position.”
NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams will participate in a Goodyear tire test this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway in advance of Memorial Day weekend events there this May.
Three Cup Series teams will test Tuesday and Wednesday at the 1.5-mile track, with a trio of Xfinity Series teams joining the Tuesday portion of the test session.
The Goodyear test comes in advance of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25, when the 66th edition of NASCAR’s longest event will kick off Amazon Prime’s five-race broadcast schedule. That weekend will also feature races for the Xfinity Series on Saturday, May 24, and both the Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series on Friday, May 23.
As is customary, one team from each of NASCAR’s manufacturers will participate in Goodyear testing. Teams and drivers scheduled to test are:
Cup Series
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Xfinity Series
Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Haas Factory Team Ford
Aric Almirola, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Austin Hill, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
LAS VEGAS — Since starting a Cup Series team, Trackhouse Racing has always excelled at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 didn’t start swiftly for any of the Trackhouse teams. Shane van Gisbergen had multiple flat tires and called it a day after completing 195 laps. Neither Ross Chastain nor Daniel Suárez earned points in the first stage.
As the race progressed, Chastain and Suárez powered through the field. It was a two-tire call by Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen on Lap 146 that gave the No. 1 Chevrolet a strong track position. In a 15-lap stretch to the end of the second stage, Chastain held on to third, tallying eight stage points. Suárez wasn’t far behind in seventh.
During the final stage, the two Trackhouse teammates had different strategies. When a caution flew on Lap 195 for a pileup on the backstretch, Suárez stayed on the track. Chastain pitted, believing the No. 1 car was on the cusp of making it to the finish on fuel.
Noah Gragson blew a right-front tire on Lap 242, interrupting a cycle of green-flag pit stops. Suárez was in second behind Joey Logano when the caution waved. But when the No. 22 team lost 19 spots on pit road, Suarez was the new leader with Josh Berry on the front row.
Chastain lined up behind Suárez for the restart, shoving the No. 99 car to the race lead. It wasn’t enough, however, as Berry passed Suárez for the lead on Lap 252 and went on to score his elusive first Cup victory.
“I was fully committed to him and happy to do it,” Chastain said of the restart. “We stayed connected well. It was aggressive, but it got him the lead and he bottomed out too hard with his car and it let [Berry] get inside of him a couple of laps into that run. Bummer because he had a better car than we did and had a shot to win and it just slipped away from us.”
Suárez took the checkered flag in second, snapping a three-race skid of finishing 23rd or worse, including a pair of DNFs. It’s his best result since the 2024 playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Chastain chalked up another top-five finish in Sin City, which is statistically his best venue on the circuit. He entered the event with five top-10 finishes, including four top fives in six starts with the No. 1 team.
Las Vegas is just the fourth time in team history that Trackhouse put multiple entries inside the top five. It’s the first time since the swansong race at Auto Club Speedway in 2023.
“It was good. Definitely very important,” Suárez said of his runner-up finish. “Especially with the 99. I think [Chastain] has had a couple decent results this year, but the 99 has been running very well lately and we’ve been getting wrecked for one reason or another.
“It sucks to be that close. Sometimes, I feel like third feels better than second. We did everything in our power at the end. We just needed to be a little bit better in the short run.”
By scoring 39 points, Suárez leaped 10 spots in the regular-season standings, now ranking 19th. The 40 points earned by Chastain were the fifth-most points tallied during the race and Chastain bumped up six positions in the standings.
“It’s huge,” Chastain noted of Trackhouse’s performance. “The last thing I said to [Suárez] was it’s pretty cool to be talking about finishing second and fifth and legitimately running up there. It’s so frustrating because I saw how close Daniel was. Daniel had the better Trackhouse car today and for him to be so close, it’s a bummer.”
